Hollow Creatures
Hollow Creatures, also known as the Denizens of the Hollow, were indigenous animals within in the Hollow, an underground tunnel network beneath Sera. Many of these creatures were captured, genetically engineered, and used by Locust Horde as vehicles, machines, food, and weapons of war. History Prehistory In an unknown time during Sera's history, a species of gargantuan worms known as Riftworms burrowed underneath Sera. The tunneling of the Riftworms created the Hollow, an network of tunnels connected to each other and are divided into the Outer and Inner Hollow. Due to the fertilization from the Riftworms, the soil in the Hollow allowed for an ecosystem to exist. Eventually, numerous species of creatures evolved in the Hollow of Sera. At an unknown time, the Riftworms either went extinct or dormant, ceasing to continue burrowing in the Hollow. However, a smaller indigenous species of Rockworms continued to burrow in the Hollow. Alongside the indigenous creatures, a liquid parasitic fungus known as Imulsion eventually arrived in the Hollow. Imulsion was volatile in nature and caused adverse health effects to many different species, with the ability to possess and mutate a host if the host has been exposed to enough Imulsion. Pendulum Wars On the surface of Sera, humans were aware of the Outer Hollows and several of its creatures and ecosystem, including Imulsion. However, Imulsion to them was a scientific curiosity until Dr. Helen Cooper created the Lightmass Process, allowing humans to refine Imulsion into an infinite, usable fuel source. Humans began colonizing the Hollow to mine for Imulsion, and more creatures were discovered during this excavation. Ownership of Imulsion reserves resulted in the Pendulum Wars between the Coalition of Ordered Governments and the Union of Independent Republics. During the early Pendulum-era, the health effects of Imulsion became apparent to the Coalition, who owned a majority of the Imulsion reserves. The Imulsion began to infect people, namely miners, their families, and those living near Imulsion refineries, with a fatal condition known as Rustlung. Fearing the backlash now that Imulsion made the Coalition and political and economic superpower, the Coalition opened the New Hope Research Facility under the Department of Health during the Monroe Administration to house and study the children of Imulsion-poisoned miners and attempt to cure Rustlung. The Director of the facility, geneticist Doctor Niles Samson, was tasked with finding the cure for Rustlung. His research involved injecting children with doses of Imulsion. When Niles discovered that one child, Myrrah, had genetic immunity to Imulsion and actually benefited from Imulsion exposure, he attempted to replicate the results. However, Niles failed to replicate Myrrah's immunity in the other children. The next step Niles took was extracting the DNA of indigenous creatures of the Hollow and injecting them into the children. However, the children mutated from his cross-species genetic experiment and transformed into Sires - distempered, sterile, aggressive hybrid creatures. Following attacks from the Sires, several staff members resigned and leaked details of the unethical experimentation at New Hope. Chairman Monroe was made aware of this and ordered the facility shut down and indicted Niles Samson and all those involved. Before the shut-down, however, a fringe political group within the Monroe Administration believed in Niles Samson's work and wished to see an end to Rustlung and the Pendulum Wars, and therefore escorted Niles, his remaining loyal scientists, and his subjects to a secret facility inside Mount Kadar where he could continue his work without impeding ethics or bureaucracy. After arriving at the Mount Kadar facility, Niles continued his work. He then combined the DNA of the Sires with the embryonic stem-cells of Myrrah, which then created the first successful hybrid, the first Drone of the Locust Horde. As more Drones were created, it was discovered that they Locust had a hivemind, with Myrrah able to control all of them. Myrrah eventually had a human daughter, Reyna, who also inherited a connection to the Locust hivemind. However, Reyna's father, Dr. Torres, escaped with her from the facility. Unable to recapture her, Niles lied to Myrrah that Reyna had died during the escape attempt. Myrrah retaliated by leading the Drones to massacre all the scientists there and declare their independence. Following the massacre, Myrrah became the Queen of the Locust Horde and led her people deeper into the Hollow of Mount Kadar. There, her and her people created Nexus, their own civilization with its own culture, language, government, and religion. Their religion was the Trinity of Worms, which worshiped the Riftworms - as they were aware of their nature and their role in giving life to the Hollow. Thus, their architecture and iconography featured worms. The Kantus also revered the Rockworms and were able to lure them out for Locust hunting parties - acting as the Locust Horde's main food source. In time, the Locust began genetically engineering creatures of the Hollow for their own purposes - such as transport, labor, and weapons. By 17 B.E., human scientists began to notice that creatures of the Hollow were beginning to mutate, such as Doctor Elain Fenix. She discovered that Rock Shrews had begun growing extra limbs. This was because the Imulsion in the Hollow began to possess the indigenous creatures as hosts for the Imulsion pathogen. Imulsion was capable of possessing hosts, mutating them, and forcing their hosts to infect and kill other lifeforms. Death of the host resulted in an explosion of the body, which acted as a last resort to spread the Imulsion to other possible hosts. Lambent War In 7 B.E., the Lambent began to start infecting the Locust Horde and the other indigenous species of the Hollow at a substantial rate, forcing the Locust into a civil war with their infected brethren. The most common form of Lambent creatures was the Lambent Wretches, which were infected Wretches by the millions. The Locust Drones were also prone to infection and became Lambent Drones, which could mutate into Lambent Drudges. Due to the Lambent being able to mutate their soldiers, the Locust were forced into an arms race and began to genetically alter and engineer the indigenous creatures of the Hollow to help aid their war effort. Using transmitter waves through helmet technology, the Locust were able to enslave Corpsers to dig tunnels and fight against the Lambent. Also, Brumaks were created from smaller, native apes in the Hollow. Locust Scientist, Ukkon, was responsible for these innovations - at the dismay of Ketor Vrol, who saw it as an abomination. Ukkon then personally began to engineer personal mounts for the Locust Leaders. Ukkon mended and prepared a disfigured Corpser, Shibboleth, for Vold Karn by retrofitting it with a mechanical leg where it was once missing. Queen Myrrah also gained a personal mount known as the Tempest. Other creatures enslaved and engineered by the Locust Horde were Kryll, Tickers, Bloodmounts, Manglers, Nemacysts, Reavers, Siegebeasts, Seeders, and Barges. However, the Locust continued to lose the war - since the Lambent were capable of infecting anything, thereby growing their army even further. With the added failure of Professor Adam Fenix, a physicist and husband of the late Dr. Elain Fenix, who was personally employed by Queen Myrrah to find a cure for Lambency, Queen Myrrah pushed for her army to invade the surface, kill all humans, and colonize Sera to escape the Lambent. Locust War Queen Myrrah was successful in leading her people to the surface of Sera in what would be known as Emergence Day, in which her armies slaughtered 25% of the human population within the first 26 hours. Corpsers were used to dig tunnels and create emergence holes for the Locust armies to arise from the Hollow. Brumaks, Bloodmounts, and Reavers were used as assault vehicles while Seeders and Nemacysts were used as radio jammers and anti-aircraft. Kryll, only available at night or during a Kryllstorm, were used to occupy human cities. The war continued for fourteen years. In Gale of 14 A.E., the Coalition launched the Lightmass Bomb during the Lightmass Offensive, which obliterated the Outer Hollow. While killing many Locust and causing the Kryll to go extinct, it did not destroy the Locust stronghold. The bomb also awoke the long-dormant Riftworm, which was then used by Ketor Skorge to sink human cities in order to weaken Jacinto's granite base and sink it, causing the Hollows to flood and kill the Lambent. Before the Locust could sink Jacinto, the Coalition launched Operation: Hollow Storm, which involved placing thousands of Gears in the Inner Hollow to fight the Locust in their stronghold. Their, the Coalition discovered more indigenous creatures - including the Riftworm and learned it was responsible for sinking the cities. After destroying the Riftworm and learning of the Locust's plans to flood the Hollow, the Coalition used a Lambent Brumak to explode Jacinto City and sink it before the Locust could leave, flooding the Hollows and killing a majority of the Locust. Lambent Pandemic The flooding of the Hollow killed many of the indigenous creatures of the Hollow. Those who survived were aquatic creatures such as the Mangler and Leviathan, who were then pushed out into the Serano Ocean. The remainder of Hollow creatures survived on surface during the flooding. The Locust Horde, split between two factions: the Queen's Guard and Savage Locust, continued to use Hollow beasts for labor, transportation, and weaponry. New to the Horde were the Siegebeasts and Gas Barges. However, the Lambent Pandemic occurred when the Imulsion was also pushed to the surface. Hollow creatures, namely the Leviathan, became Lambent Leviathans. As the Lambency progressed, Professor Adam Fenix was located on Azura and developed an Imulsion Countermeasure Weapon - weapon capable of pulsating targeted-radiation waves across Sera to kill all Imulsion cells. During the final battle, known as Victory Day, countless Hollow creatures were used by the Locust and Lambent to stop kill each other and the humans, but the Imulsion Countermeasure was detonated. All Imulsion and Lambent creatures were vaporized. However, all uninfected Locust and Hollow creatures collapsed and began to crystallize. Era of Peace After the end of the Locust War and Lambent Pandemic, all remaining Hollow creatures, along the Locust, were completely covered in impenetrable crystals. Unable to destroy them, the Coalition decided to bury the crystallized bodies in mass graves across Sera. Humanity was finally at an era of peace, allowing them to rebuild civilization. In time, the Locust Horde and Hollow creatures came to be regarded as Hollywood monsters and scientific curiosities. Serapedes and other Hollow creatures were used as video game monsters. And other creatures, namely the Corpser, were used as inspiration for horror films such as They Came From B-Low 2 and Wrath of the Parasidian. By 42 A.E., the Natural History Museum opened a new exhibit known as the "Denizens of the Hollow." The exhibit showcased Brumaks, Tickers, Reavers, Corpsers, Kryll, and Rockworms. Swarm War Denizens of the Hollow Bloodmount The Bloodmounts were highly aggressive, bipedal Hollow creatures. Their bodies were warped, allowing them to walk on their arms while their hind legs were pincers used as defense. Bloodmounts were moderately fast and struck with sheer strength. They were one of the many Hollow creatures enslaved by the Locust Horde, used as personal, defensive transportation. They were often ridden by Beast Riders or Palace Guards. Their main diet consisted of human flesh. Brumak The Brumaks were originally smaller, native apes of the Hollow. As smaller apes, the Locust Horde would hunt them using Breechshots and were a part of the Locust Horde's diet. Later genetically engineered by the Locust Horde, the Brumaks then stood about 50 feet tall and weighed around 15,000 kilograms (33,069 lbs). The Brumaks were capable of carrying a rocket launcher carrying up to two Locust Drones on their backs, in addition to two machine guns on their forearms. They were used as transport and artillery for the Locust army. Corpser The Corpsers were spider-like creatures of the Hollow. They had four eyes, eight front legs and twenty hind legs. The Corpsers were oviparous, reproducing by laying eggs and born with only four front legs. Aside from the Riftworms, the Corpsers were responsible for many of the tunnels in the Hollow, as their legs allowed them to dig through the rock and soil. The Locust Horde later enslaved Corpsers as a means of transportation - digging tunnels beneath Seran cities and opening emergence holes on the surface, allowing the Locust to breach and attack. Shibboleth The Shibboleth was a notable deformed Corpser. Found with a wounded leg, it was rescued and mended by Vold Karn of the Locust Horde. Karn then requested the Shibboleth to be healed and modified by Locust scientist Ukkon. The Shibboleth was fitted with a mechanical prosthetic leg and the abilities to launch Nemacysts and exhale extreme heat. Zamil Karn then the Fall of Gorasnaya on Emergence Day on the surface and was victorious by riding the Shibboleth into battle. After surviving the Lightmass Missile during the Destruction of Halvo Bay, the Shibboleth was killed in the Battle of the Plaza by Kilo Squad and Colonel Ezra Loomis.Gears of War: Judgment Digger The Diggers were small, worm-like creatures capable of burrowing below the surface and emerging into open space. They were also capable of burrowing into the bodies of other creatures. The Diggers were used as grenade launchers for the Locust Horde by being fitted with a grenade and shot out of the Digger Launcher. The Digger was able to burrow underground beneath enemy cover, emerge, and detonate. The launcher could also be used to burrow in the chest of enemies and detonate from within the torso. Gas Barge The Gas Barges were large balloon-shaped creatures from the Hollow. Due to the containment of gases and air, the Gas Barges were able to take flight. It is unknown if they were genetically engineered by the Locust Horde, but they were enslaved as Air Barges for the Locust Horde following the flooding of the Hollow in 14 A.E., and were used prominently as air transportation and artillery during the last year of the Locust War. The Gas Barges were fitted with a transport deck similar to Torture Barges and a navigation system that was pre-programmed. The navigation system was connected to a device that picked the Gas Barges' hinds left or right with mechanical pincers, compelling the Gas Barges to avoid the pincers and turn left or right. Heart Leech Imulsion Imulsion was a liquid, parasitic fungus residing within the Hollow. When first discovered by humans, it was nothing more than a scientific curiosity. However, Dr. Helen Cooper discovered the Lightmass Process, in which Imulsion could be converted into usable fuel. Imulsion was promising for a fuel-hungry world, especially since it reproduced asexually and appeared to be limitless, allowing for cheap fuel. However, Imulsion was a viral parasite and caused adverse health effects in humans, known as the fatal disease called Rustlung. Imulsion later evolved into Lambency, in which the Imulsion was able to possess its host, mutate, and spread the virus. Imulsion was eradicated in 17 A.E. by Professor Adam Fenix during the Lambent Pandemic, using a targeted radiation device known as the Imulsion Countermeasure Weapon. Kraken Kryll Leviathan Mangler The Manglers are large fish-like creatures used by the Locust to pull their gunboats in the Hollow. After the Sinking of Jacinto City, several wild Manglers are encountered by Delta Squad in the Southern Serano Ocean on their way to Azura along with a Leviathan, suggesting that like the Leviathans, the flooding of the Hollow released the creatures into the open water. Nemacyst Reaver The Reavers are large, flying creatures about twenty times the size of a drone. They are saddled up and ridden by a Beast Rider as well as a passenger Drone or Theron Guard. In addition to its passenger, the Reavers had a mounted rocket launcher to attack the opponents and are occasionally used as kamikaze bombers due to their explosive nature. Hydra The Hydra was the personal mount of High Priest Skorge. The Hydra was a larger, modified reaver that Skorge mounted when chasing Marcus and Dom outside Jacinto City. It was fitted with a helmet similar to those of the Kantus and was also equipped with larger body armor than that of a normal Reaver. The Hydra attacked by using its large mouth to bite its enemies, but it was also fitted with rockets and a turret similar to that of a Brumak's. It was killed along with its rider when Marcus and Dom shot it with their hijacked Reavers, outside Jacinto City during the Siege of Jacinto.[13] Riftworm The Riftworms were gargantuan, worm-like creatures of the Hollow. Based on their size and their ability to stay dormant for centuries, they were possibly prehistoric creatures. The Riftworms were responsible for the creation of the Hollow and the ecology and native life within it. The Riftworms would burrow in the crust and create the tunnels underground. Due to the Riftworms devouring the soil and digesting it, their excrement acted as a fertilizer and allowed for life to evolve in the Hollow. Because of this, the Locust Horde revered them as Gods because of their role in creating life in the Hollow. According to the Locust, three were in existence, and one was awoken and used by the Locust Horde to burrow and sink Seran cities. It was later killed in 14 A.E. Nemacyte Rock Shrew Rockworm Seeder The Seeders are large, bizarre, insect-like creatures that launched Nemacyst, flying jellyfish-like creatures that acted as flying mines and anti-air interceptors into the air from their anus. When the Seeders are present in an area, they scrambled the COG radio frequencies.Gears of War: Act 1: Ashes: Hammer Serapede The Serapedes are animals native to the planet of Sera, described as being "unlike any other creature on the planet". The Giant Serapedes are notable for their almost steel-like carapaces which rendered them immune to most forms of attack. They could also "shoot lightning" from their pincers and their only weakness was their unprotected back.Gears of War 3: Act IV: Batten Down the Hatches Siegebeast Tempest The Tempest was Queen Myrrah's personal mount. It attacked by firing a large beam of light that burned anything that it hitted and could also release the Shriekers to attack. The Tempest was killed by Delta-One by using the Hammer of Dawn while its rider was killed by Marcus Fenix. Shrieker The Shriekers are small flying creatures, roughly about the same size as a Ticker. They are equipped with two machine guns and are dangerous when they flew at close range. The Shriekers would usually attack their enemies in squads, no more than 6 at a time. They could be killed with just about any weapon, but when they died, they may fall or fly toward the nearest person and explode in the hopes of killing them. Ticker The Tickers are small creatures that the Locust Horde used as mobile landmines. The Kantus are able to summon the Tickers. During the Lambent Pandemic, "Wild" Tickers are encountered. Reasonably shy and devoid of the explosives, they are known to eat weapons and ammo that are laying on the ground. Torture Barge The Barge was a mobile prison used by the Locust Horde to transport prisoners for Processing.Gears of War 2: Act 2: Denizens: Captivity Wretch Small, jittery members of the Locust, the Wretches are weak when on their own, but potentially deadly in large packs. They attacked by climbing on or over surfaces and lunging at their target in a vicious frenzy. They made up for their lack of strength with speed and unpredictability and are often used as a distraction or as cannon fodder by the Locust. Alone, they are easily beaten, but in groups, they could literally tear the COG soldiers to shreds. They often made their presence known before becoming visible by letting a horrid, extremely high-pitched scream out that could make the Gears cover their ears in pain. They are very dangerous, often causing the Gears to forget to look up being overwhelmed by a subsequent attack if the Wretches themselves did not kill them. The Wretches also had an annoying habit of jumping on the Gears while they are handling bigger, badder and uglier Locust. References Category:Hollow Creatures Category:Locust Horde Category:The Swarm